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A charter school in Chula Vista was performing so poorly on state assessments that it made the federal watch list for three years. Now it has staged a dramatic turnaround that is attracting international attention.

Today, the 822-student school has test scores among the highest in the Chula Vista Elementary School District and has been recognized as a California Distinguished School. The dual-language immersion campus has become a type of laboratory where professors from San Diego State University as well as educators from Mexico, England and Switzerland visit, hoping to discover the secret to its success.

Chula Vista Learning Community Charter, which was on the federal “program improvement” list until 2008, has raised its Academic Performance Index scores from 680 in 2005 to 880 in 2011, exceeding the state goal of 800. Every March, hundreds of parents converge on its parking lot to submit applications, with some camping overnight. Last spring, 320 applicants were turned away.

At this school, everyone has a role in the education of children.

Teachers are encouraged to be “teacher scholars” and are expected to keep up with research being done in the field of education. Parent involvement is a high priority, with parents required to volunteer 30 hours a year, including attending parent meetings where administrators offer tips for helping with homework and review lessons their children are being taught.

Students at the school take half their courses in English and half in Spanish each day, and also get weekly instruction in Mandarin, a third language added two years ago. About 95 percent of students at the K-8 school are Latino, with about 53 percent English-language learners and about half come from families poor enough they qualify for free or reduced lunch.

Parents say they like the school for the language immersion and rigorous instruction. Martha Garcia, whose 4-year-old daughter is in kindergarten, said she’s pleased so far. “She reads already in both languages,” Garcia said.

Those who cannot meet the time commitment are asked to leave. “We are a choice school. You choose to be here,” said school Director Jorge Ramirez.

The campus’ turnaround caught the eye of researchers at San Diego State University who were looking at schools that have had success in closing the achievement gap.

SDSU professor Cristina Alfaro is among a team of seven SDSU researchers with the College of Education with expertise in literacy, biliteracy, administration and child development who are studying every aspect of the school — from how its administrators lead staff to how teachers collaborate and develop curriculum to better target the backgrounds of their students.

Alfaro said teachers at the school work closely together, analyze test data to see where gaps exist and alter teaching plans to shore up weak areas.

The course correction came about, she and others say, after the school embraced what she calls the “power of belief systems.” Administrators focused on making sure that everyone on staff believes all students can succeed and won’t excuse failures because of their students’ backgrounds.

High expectations are set for all students, and parents are seen as critical partners in the process.

Alfaro, who teaches aspiring teachers, said her SDSU students often want a simple recipe for what works. She said the key is to adapt the curriculum to students. Teachers at the school look at the students’ cultural and linguistic backgrounds and develop curricula that connects to their experiences.

“They are innovative, they are relevant, they are cutting edge and they are research-based,” she said.

Alfaro has consulted at the school, helping lead some teacher trainings and also teaches one of her SDSU classes at the campus to be closer to students in the South Bay and to tap resources at the school. When they need K-8 students to demonstrate a teaching approach, for example, they have a ready supply available.

“It has become an awesome laboratory for us,” she said.

The school this year is focusing on having students engage in critical discussions with classmates about texts they read and having them explain their thought processes. To prepare for the emphasis on dialogue, every teacher read and discussed the book “Pedagogy of the Oppressed,” written by Harvard professor Paulo Freire about his experiences of teaching in literacy programs in Brazil.

Alfaro said the book talks about the importance of believing that all children can learn and not engaging in the bigotry of low expectations.

“It has some really strong language but the reason we like this book is it really challenges teachers and principals and the community at large in the way that we think and we address situations, especially when working with students from lower socio-economic backgrounds and English learners,” she said. “It is not so much as giving you more methods and more strategies. Equally important is teacher ideology.”

Ramirez, who has led the school since it opened in 1998, says it is important the charter not “flatline” in its performance. When he talks about his teachers, he uses words like “intellectual” and “lifelong learners” and says they are continually seeking to improve their methods.

Second-grade teacher Monica Lucero, who has been at the school for 13 years, said the achievement turnaround occurred after teachers began to pay closer attention to student test data and curriculum and focusing on providing assistance those who needed it.

“We made parents aware of where their children were at and where they could help at home. There were a lot more workshops for parents, a lot more things for our target students (such as) second-language learners,” Lucero said. “The director does a good job of always bringing up what the expectations are to parents. Everyone knows what they are accountable for.”

Administrators say they try to balance classrooms in the lottery process. Entering kindergartners are assessed on an observation day and grouped into categories of above, average and below and then randomly selected. “We don’t just take the cream of the crop,” said Francisco Lopez, dean of students.

One way parents are included in the school is through monthly parent meetings, where administrators highlight ways they can help with homework and learning.

In October, for example, Lopez ran a crowd of more than 200 parents through a lesson on narrative writing. Parents were given handouts in English and Spanish and read a Greek myth about Arachne the spinner. Lopez then called on parents who raised their hands to answer questions about how plot lines made up different actions in the story.

“You are our biggest team member,” he told parents at one point. “You are the one who is going to help us get students excited about what they are learning in class.”

Alfaro said she’s amazed at the turnout.

“I’ve been to some of these sessions. They have parents out the door, standing room only. You’d think it was a concert or something,” Alfaro said.